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Allen ISD Asking For Tax Increase

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ALLEN (CBS 11 NEWS) – First came the layoffs caused by the school funding problems.

Now some school districts are hitting homeowners with tax increases to offset the cost of public education.

Allen voters started heading to the polls this week to decide on a tax increase that would make it one of the area’s highest. If they reject it, the Allen ISD might have to lay off more teachers and increase class sizes.

AISD wants to raise its tax rate 13 cents, to $1.67 per $100.

Allen homeowners already pay higher school district taxes than people in several neighboring cities. Here are some of those current tax rates:

Richardson ISD: $1.34

Dallas ISD: $1.24

Plano ISD: $1.35

Frisco ISD: $1.39

Still, there are a several organized campaigns to support this referendum.

A group called “Kids First” has started mailing fact sheets to encourage support.

Among their points: Allen schools have the highest student to teacher ratio and receive less money from the state than other Collin County cities. The group also says the state has cut $21 million from Allen’s school budget and with 600 new students every year a tax increase is unavoidable.